


anonymous incognito (that's not my name)

by misura



Category: Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Conventions, Gen, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-07 03:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12832710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Cath and Levi at SnowCon 2003.





	anonymous incognito (that's not my name)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Onthecyberseas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onthecyberseas/gifts).



> I simply could not resist your idea of Cath and Levi at a Simon Snow fan convention. ^^
> 
> happy Yuletide!

"This is ridiculous," Cath said.

"On the one hand, I agree," said Levi. "On the other hand, I'm not sure that someone who's already bought six Simon and Baz posters, two Simon and Baz pencils, three Simon and Baz mugs and one Simon and Baz laptop case is really in any position to cast aspersions on the level of ridiculousness of a Simon and Baz pillow case. Don't you think it would go well with your drapes?"

Cath imagined Reagan's response to Cath bringing home a Simon and Baz pillow. "Eight. I bought eight posters." She'd wanted to buy more - some of the fanartists here were amazing, but she'd promised herself to keep it reasonable, to stick to a budget.

"And they're all lovely." Levi smiled. He was wearing a _Carry On_ t-shirt.

Levi's original suggestion had been to dress up: Cath as Simon, and Levi as Baz, but Cath had refused, pointing out how their height difference simply didn't match that between Simon and Baz.

Levi had countered that last time he checked, Simon wasn't a girl, either. He hadn't really pushed the issue, though, and so Cath hadn't needed to say out loud that she hadn't wanted to walk in here and have people look at her, the way they would have if they'd cosplayed as Simon and Baz.

Good cosplayers always got lots of attention at cons, with lots of people wanting to take their picture. Cath didn't want that kind of fuss. She only wanted to be left alone and enjoy herself. Let others take the spotlight, if that was what made them happy.

"I wasn't talking about the pillow case," Cath said. "I like the pillow case."

"You should buy it, then," said Levi. "Don't worry about getting it home - my truck's got plenty of space. You could probably buy every single piece of merchandise here, and it'd still fit."

Cath rolled her eyes. "I don't want to buy every single piece of merchandise here." That was a lie. She definitely did.

Maybe not all the fanartists were equally talented, but Cath could tell from their art that all of them loved Simon just as much as she did. Even the ones who'd drawn Simon/Agatha, or Simon/Penelope.

Just because Cath didn't ship their ship, that didn't mean she couldn't admire their passion.

"So what's ridiculous?" Levi asked. "The lack of Simon and Baz pottery? I confess, I was really hoping to get some Simon and Baz flower pots. Maybe a few of those big mugs might work? I could break off the handles. Do you think people would be able to tell they weren't really flower pots?"

"Yes," said Cath. "I'm pretty sure they would."

Levi looked disappointed for maybe all of five seconds before he went back to smiling.

Cath didn't feel she had any right to get annoyed at him for smiling so much today. She knew that she was smiling a lot, too. It was really good, to know she was surrounded by people who were exactly like her, who lived for Simon the same way she did.

"I haven't told anyone who I am," she said.

"You're wearing a name tag," Levi pointed out. He wore one as well. It was a SnowCon house rule. Everyone who attended the con wore a name tag. You could put whatever you wanted on it - first name, last name, real name, on-line name. Whatever you wanted people to call you.

Levi's name tag said 'Levi'. He'd turned the dot of the i into a little heart and added a smiley, as if people wouldn't be able to tell what a nice guy he was by looking at his face. As if he needed an extra smile, to make him look extra friendly.

Cath's name tag simply said 'Cath'. She'd only been here for four hours, and already she'd lost track of the number of people who'd talked to her about how amazing _Carry On, Simon_ was, and what an amazing author Magicath was. How Magicath was their hands down favorite author, how no one wrote Simon/Baz as well as Magicath did.

How amazing it would have been if Magicath had come to the con and maybe participated in one of the panels. There were lots of panels throughout the weekend. Some of them included the actors who'd played in the movies, talking about why they thought their characters had made this or that choice - why Simon had reached for his wand instead of his sword, why Baz had tried to kill Simon by pushing him down the stairs instead of tripping him up when the two of them had been standing on the ramparts.

Some of them were made up entirely of fans, discussing fan theories. Who was Penelope's mother really? Why did this specific ghost haunt this specific hallway? Was Agatha really in love with Simon, or did she prefer Baz - or Penelope, even?

Cath imagined attending a panel where she'd need to argue her own opinion: that Baz was the only one who was right for Simon, and Simon the only one who was right for Baz. The idea alone made her want to find a quiet corner to curl up and pretend to be invisible.

And yet, wasn't that the kind of person people would be expecting Magicath to be? Someone brave and clever and funny? Someone confident and self-assured, who'd look anyone who shipped Simon/Agatha straight into the eye and tell them that they were dead wrong?

"You know what I mean," she said.

"If you want me to make a public announcement, simply say the word," Levi said. "Ann-Maria's perfectly nice. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Cath wondered why she was even surprised Levi had already made friends with the con's organizers.

"I feel like an impostor." No one had asked Cath if she was Magicath. Cath didn't know what she would do if someone did - panic, probably.

Levi put his arm around her. There was nothing romantic about it, nothing that should make her face feel all warm, except that it was Levi.

"You're not an impostor. You're really Cath. Unless you're really Wren, in which case I must apologize to the real Cath for lying when I swore to her that I could tell the two of you apart."

"No. I'm Cath," Cath said. _Your Cath,_ she almost said, the way Simon had told Baz, _I'm your Simon_ after Baz had been hit by a spell that had made him forget everything that had happened during the previous six months, including the fact that he and Simon had confessed to one another that they were in love.

"That's a relief," said Levi. His arm tightened a bit, like a quick hug that didn't look like a hug, even if it felt like one. "So what's the problem? You like writing fanfiction. Doesn't mean you owe anyone telling them you do. Your choice, Cath. If need be, I will take your secret with me to the grave. They may torture me, they may threaten to feed me to the Curators, but I will never talk. At least, not about that," he amended.

Cath smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better."

"I live to please," said Levi. "It's what makes me such a great boyfriend."

"Do you think maybe I should get that pillow case for Reagan?" Cath had already gotten several things for Wren. Small things, mostly. Things Wren could put somewhere and take out when she wanted to look at them. A set of postcards with the same fanart Cath had gotten as a set of posters. A couple of buttons. The official trading card game, with art based on the books, rather than the movies.

"That depends. Do you still want her to be talking to you next week? Next month? Next year? Two years from now?"

"Fine," Cath said. "You pick out something she'll like then."

"Mission impossible, but accepted nevertheless."


End file.
